Prodiance Link Migration Manager:
Link Management & Migration for Business Critical Spreadsheets
Linked Spreadsheet Challenges If you’ve ever tried to move critical spreadsheets into a document management repository to leverage critical IT controls such as increased security, access control, versioning, audit trails, electronic signatures and workflow, then you know doing so often breaks any links to dependent spreadsheets. Unfortunately, when this occurs, end users opening linked spreadsheets from the new repository location may not be able to update input data coming from the external spreadsheets, or output data feeding dependent spreadsheets. The reason for these “broken links” is that, out of the box, Microsoft Office Excel and many document management repositories do not support spreadsheet link management. If you’ve encountered these problems in your spreadsheet compliance initiative, then you’re not alone. These are challenges many organizations face, and many man hours have been wasted in determining what links exist, and manually re-establishing broken links.
Managing Linked Spreadsheets in a Compliance Environment To address these challenges, there are a few technical hurdles to overcome. First, any and all linked spreadsheets need to be migrated into a secure document management repository in a manner that preserves any external links. This requires a robust migration tool that can move any and all critical spreadsheets inventoried while updating any external links to reflect their new web repository location. It also requires a tool that is intelligent and knows where linked spreadsheets reside, and if they are part of the migration process or not. Second, preserving spreadsheet links requires a special integration layer which works with the document management repository so that links can be seamlessly updated to “see” dependent spreadsheets wherever they exist on the network.
Prodiance Link Migration Manager Prodiance Link Migration Manager (patent pending) is the solution for spreadsheet link management. Prodiance Link Migration Manager is a powerful application that migrates spreadsheets from uncontrolled user desktops and shared drive locations to a secure document management repository while automatically preserving any embedded links. Prodiance Link Migration Manager incorporates the following key features:
- Bulk Migration – Critical spreadsheets can be migrated in batch (or bulk) mode based on Prodiance Search results, Prodiance Spreadsheet IQ inventory reports, or existing inventories.
- Automatic Link Updating – Any links contained in the spreadsheet inventory will be automatically updated during the migration process. This ensures that end users will be able to update existing links when spreadsheets are accessed from the new document management repository location.
- Migration Reporting – After migration is complete, detailed date/time stamped migration reports are generated listing all spreadsheets migrated, including from/to locations, and any links that were updated during migration. This ensures that a complete chain of custody is maintained for all migrated spreadsheets.
- Flexible Processing & Disposition Options – During migration, source spreadsheets can be deleted from their original location and taken away from end users, archived to a new network location, or left in place. Optionally, Prodiance Link Migration Manager can scan the spreadsheet inventory, and automatically include any and all linked spreadsheets in the migration process.
- Support for 3rd Party ECM Systems – Prodiance Link Migration Manager supports a variety of 3rd party enterprise content management (ECM) and document management systems, including Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, Documentum ECM, and other WebDAV-enabled repositories.
Proven Return on Investment By automating the migration of critical spreadsheets into a secure repository while preserving existing links, organizations can satisfy end user needs and save many man hours versus manually re-establishing spreadsheet links. The savings are so significant the software often pays for itself within the first migration project!
Prodiance Link Migration Manager provides peace of mind during the migration process to ensure your organization’s critical spreadsheets are moved to secure repository where they can be managed with the highest level of security and integrity.
Get Started Today! If you’re ready to automate internal controls over critical spreadsheets, and migrate linked spreadsheets into a controlled environment, contact a Prodiance representative for your personalized demo today!